On the Other Side of the Mirror
by DeceivingAura
Summary: Life is strange. A simple shoujo scenario can lead to you being transferred to your favourite manga. Who knew? Definitely not Aki. -Rated T just in case- I do not own Assassination Classroom.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! How're you doin? Thanks so much for clicking that link and giving this a try! As some of you may already know, this use to be a collaborative work between ArashiYuki13 and me! But she was unable to continue writing with me for a couple of reasons, but I was quite fired up for this book so I decided to write it myself! I hope you like it! It's not that good but I hope you try it out and like it! (Sorry, I stink at writing A/Ns) Sooo… taadaa! Go ahead and read it! (Sorry for rambling! ^^)**

 _Ring. Ring. Ring._

I groaned to myself. What time was it exactly? Lazily glancing over to the alarm clock, I mustered the angriest glare I could, in hopes that I could destroy the nuisance with my psychic powers. To say the least, it did not work. _Stupid, imaginary psychic powers,_ I thought to myself. Then, I proceeded to push myself out of the comfort of my bed, not forgetting to bang the darn alarm clock's snooze button. The pink and purple flower design on its sides annoyed me to no ends at this time of the morning. It was a present from my uncle, who had probably grabbed the first thing in his sight to get for my fourteenth birthday party.

"WHO GETS THEIR NIECE A DARN ALARM CLOCK?" I yelled, but quickly slapped my hands onto my mouth, taking quick glances around to make sure no one had seen me.

I then groaned once more, realizing that I had actually wasted ten minutes cursing my uncle. Curse my overactive mind! _Why can't you ever be like this at school?_ I scolded myself (which made no sense, of course, but it had to be done). I took slow, sleepy steps to my small, walk-in closet, selecting my favourite white and black striped shirt, along with red jeans. _What can I say? I'm feeling lucky today,_ I hummed cheerfully to myself, adding a change to my gloomy demeanor. I made my way to my bathroom and cleaned myself up, taking a quick shower.

As I made my way back to my bed, (to neaten it up, of course, before my mom began pestering me), a colourful manga cover caught my eye. I grinned to myself happily as I realized it was Assassination Classroom, my all-time favourite manga. I plopped myself onto my rotatable chair and opened it eagerly, re-reading it for what would be the _hundredth_ time. Koro sensei's pink, perverted face greeted me warmly (that, however could've been my imagination again), and I slowly became absorbed into the adventures of teenagers and adults alike, who were dear to my heart. As I delved into the non-existing world, my heart seemed to flutter every once in a while. Who could blame me? I subconsciously smiled at the amazing blue headed boy, sighing heartily. _And my friends think they know what they're talking about when they say their crush will never know they exist. Could anyone blame me though, IT'S NAGISA._

As a result of my (not so) complex thoughts of Nagisa, I continuously squealed, chuckling to myself like a demented fan girl. Which, when you thought about it, I was. I busied myself for a while more, indulging in my fantasies of my beloved manga, until I heard shuffling from outside my room. What time was it? My eyes bulged out of their sockets as I read the time.

"I'M GOING TO BE LATE!" I hastily got up, tripping over my feet as I ran down the stairs.

I ran into our tiny kitchen, grabbing a muffin for school, and messily applying butter to a piece of toast to make something that barely came close to the word called "breakfast". I stuffed the muffin in my backpack as I picked it up (thanking God that I had thought of packing it the previous night). I then plopped the buttery piece of burnt toast in my mouth, stomping onto the street and then bursting into a run (much to the dismay of the people around me that were probably debating about just how mentally unstable I was). It was around that time, as I ran for my life to make it to school that I realized something that almost caused me to choke on the bread in my mouth. I had bread in my mouth, I was running late to school; this was just your typical shoujo scenario. _I swear, if I run into my future love now, I will die,_ I thought, snorting loudly.

Then I turned around the corner of the street, still distracted by the thoughts of my future boyfriend. In result, I fell. _Hard._ Do you want to know of my reaction? I burst into loud, obnoxious laughter, flailing my legs around on the pavement. I pounded my fists as hard as I could, only stopping when I realized I had not caught sight of the person I had bumped into. I raised my head, preparing myself for some handsome teenager, when I saw the freaked out ten year old boy who looked like he was having a self-conflict on whether to run for his life, or drag me to the mental hospital. As we made eye contact, his eyes widened and he threw the first thing he saw onto me and ran without looking back. The first thing he saw being a brick. A _freaking_ brick. I barely rolled myself to the side in time, avoiding the wholesome pain, but catching a few painful scratches instead.

"OUCH" I screamed, quickly standing up, reminding myself that I was late for school.

But no way was I going to let that _kid_ go. So I sprinted towards where I saw the ten year old (or so I presumed) boy head off earlier, revenge ringing in my mind. I openly ignored the fact that I was going opposite to where my school resided. Only after five minutes had flashed by had I realized two gruesome truths. The first being that the boy was nowhere to be found, and the second being that I was _hopelessly_ lost. I chuckled to myself nervously, trying my best to distract myself from the sight of the alarmingly shady people that I had been surrounded by. The whole area stunk horridly of a revolting mixture of sweat, alcohol and cigarettes. It worried me even further, the smell did.

I eased my breaths, avoiding what I felt was an oncoming panic attack. It felt like I was treading on fragile glass that could break on a moment's notice. I shifted uncomfortably, pulling my shirt down as a fat man eyed me lustfully. My ears picked up hushed whispers, and that was when I realized that something bad was going to happen. The sole red rose that grew out of a grey, filthy pot reminded me of blood. I hastened my pace, trying to find my way out of that place.

That was when a heard a shrill, petrified scream. The mere sound of it seemed to suck my face dry of blood, and I stood glued to the ground. _Help,_ I thought, willing myself to believe that everything would work out alright. But I knew that it wouldn't. It never did. As another equally frightened scream was heard I could not stop myself any longer. My legs moved on their own, despite the alarmed voice inside me screaming to escape. I wanted to escape to safety. I couldn't.

I ran towards the source of the horrible sounds, preparing myself for the worst as I turned around a corner to head towards a dark alley. It didn't work. I felt faint and terrified, and my heart began to beat violently, afraid that every beat would be its last. My eyes widened at the petrified woman sprawled in a corner, her eyes flashing alarmingly. I followed her gaze to the limp body of a fully grown man, whimpering slightly at sight of his emotionless eyes. I stood frozen as if I had paralyzed, finally pin pointing the man who had caused all this. A masked man, ignorant to my presence, kicked aside the bloody corpse of the man and slowly walked over to the woman. Then, without wasting another moment, shot her. That was all it took really. The push of a trigger was enough to end the soulful existence of a living being. Then she could scream no more, but that scared me even more. It was only at that gruesome moment that fate would have me notice the presence of another being: a small, terrified child. The girl that was previously hidden behind nearby trashcans sobbed loudly, alerting the masked fiend of her existence. I clenched my fists, and held my breath, hoping with all my heart that everything would be _okay._ But when the man pointed the gun at the helpless child, I knew I could take no more of this.

I ran at a fastened pace towards the girl, only to see that the man was about to pull the trigger, he was about to needlessly end another life. I jumped in front of the wide eyed girl, pushing her away with all my might. My body shook violently in anticipation of the pain that was soon to come. The following seconds were probably the longest in my life; it was as if the horrifying scene before me was imprinting itself onto my existence, burning the purgatory I felt to my memory. The man responsible for my misery laughed, very simply, reminding me that my life was no longer mine. I understood. I could not survive this, there was no use trying. _So I'll just help another,_ I decided glancing at the helpless soul whimpering to herself. It was at that particular moment that I decided to give up my life for another, to become the very stepping stones that I despised. I sighed in relief as the little girl made her hasty escape. Suddenly, all thoughts flowing through my mind came to an abrupt halt, as if I had been paralyzed.

I cowered as I heard a loud scream: the sort that made me want to crawl to someplace safe. My eyes grew in shape as I realized I was the source of misshapen, horrifying screech. But I did not delve on it. All I managed to register was that I was feeling unimaginable pain. I wanted it to stop. I succumbed to the dirty ground, one thought finally beginning to take shape.

 _Help me._

 _Help me._

 _Help me._

I recited the mantra over and over. But mistaken me not: I knew this would not help, I knew no one would come save me. It was something to hold onto as the masked man repeatedly shot me. As he finally stopped, I laughed through my pain in short-lived relief. He took out a dagger, and smirked maliciously. I shrieked again, and tried my best to crawl away. My body refused to respond. I still had hope. The child I saved would surely bring help. But as seconds dragged onto minutes, I grew desperate. I shrieked, I screamed, I shouted. Why did no one come? I could see many people walking by the alley I was in, but no one would look in. Those who did would walk by even faster.

 _Why isn't anyone helping me?_

They had abandoned me. Even the person whose life I saved. I truly was just a stepping stone. The psychotic man, who had now officially decided which weapon to torture me with, grew closer with a decorative dagger. Then, as he tore my insides open and ended my pitiable self, I dove into never ending darkness: hate burning in every cell of my body.

As I awoke, the first thing, the first emotion that rang through me was confusion. Clear confusion. I had just died: I was sure of it. As I stole a brief glance at the posh, fancy room I was resided in (one much too expensive for my family to afford), I realized that it could've been possible that the psychotic man had kidnapped me. As I shook in unfiltered fright of what lie ahead of me, I knew that I would need some sort of defense. I cautiously made my way to the huge dressing table in the corner of the room, and then finally noticed my appearance.

I blinked in utter bewilderment, trying to figure out how my appearance that managed to change. I used to have dull brown eyes and hair. Now, I had big, purple eyes and honey brown hair. I was freaked out to say the least. Despite the unavoidable truth that I was definitely far prettier with these vibrant eyes and beautiful hair, I had reached the conclusion that the psychopath had performed plastic surgery on me! The little _pig!_ How else could I have changed so much? In newfound rage, I scrimmaged around until I found a pair of sharp scissors. I would tear apart the man that had caused me all this pain.

I skipped down the staircase, my eyes taking quick looks around the posh residence, trying to pin point the location of my target. Instead, my eyes landed on a neatly written note on the large wooden dining table to my right. I took small steps towards it, secretly fearing what more misery the cursive words would bring along. Taking a deep breath, I picked it up.

 _To Aki,_

 _I have already sent the maids home for today. You're going have to make do till dinner as you are forbidden from using the kitchen. Perhaps you will learn to get up earlier from now on._

 _Miura Kyoko_

Before I had any time to decipher what the letter before me meant, I felt the weight of a thousand bricks upon my shoulders, and collapsed. I felt an odd sort of nostalgia awaken inside me as memories flashed before my eyes. The strangest part was: they were mine. I felt more waves of confusion fall upon me as I argued with myself: I was not Miura Aki. But the more memories and moments that came by me, the more convinced I became. It was as if I had been given another chance at life. Only then was it that I found that memories were not only coming to me, they were leaving me too. All memories from my past life were leaving me, and before I knew it I was only left with a shadow, an outline of what I was.

But soon, my brows scrunched in uncertainty. Certain bits of knowledge refused to leave me. In my mind was still a clear image of my favourite manga: Assassination Classroom. Not only an image, but I remembered every single tiniest detail. I sighed in relief, and chuckled as I lay like a mental child on the ground. I hummed in happiness. I had something from my past life: I had something to hold onto.

This time, as I awoke it was not confusion, or even fear that greeted me. It was happiness. It was all a dream after all; A silly little nightmare. As I jumped up from my bed enthusiastically, a lock of honey brown hair fell in my eyes.

 _Dammit._

I groaned as I made my way to my closet, and then gasped at the wide array of expensive clothes. Then, my excitement ended as I realized what fancy apparels my closet was filled with. After what felt like an hour of looking for something un-snooty to wear, I found a purple hoodie and a plain pair of ripped jeans. Grinning to myself, I pulled them on and went down the stairs: skipping one step each time. As I approached the table, I saw my "mother" scrunch her nose in disgust at my outfit. My mother had long white hair which had been tied into a tight knot, and purple eyes bearing an uncanny resemblance to my own. My father, who sat on the side of the table opposite to my mom's, had honey brown hair and pink eyes. Ignoring the two intimidating stares that followed my every move, I sat on my very own huge chair. The cushioning on it was hard, making me squirm uncomfortably. The sides of the gigantic chair were decorated with intricate designs of vines seemingly growing around the whole thing.

My eyes feasted on the delicious looking pancakes that had been served on the gigantic plate set in front of me. I ate it messily with a fork, ignoring my parents that were eating their breakfast carefully with a fork and knife. I feigned ignorance to the large amount of crumbs that were falling to my lap, and sticking to the corners of my mouth. "Stop eating like an ill-mannered pig. It's making me unable to eat my own food: looking at you." My mother ordered me in a monotonous and emotionless voice that sent shivers down my back.

" _Of course!"_ I replied in a sickly sweet voice.

Then I made a point to eat just like "an ill-mannered pig", dropping crumbs all the way to the floor, and _accidently_ rubbing syrup to my face. As a grand finale I gave a loud, obnoxious burp.

"Oops!" I grinned slyly.

My mother got up abruptly, slamming the table with her hands. She glared at the servants standing silently in the corner of the room, sending the scurrying out of the room.

"GET OUT OF THIS ROOM AT THIS INSTANT! I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOUR FACE! YOU ARE TO STAY IN YOUR ROOM FOR A WEEK! DON'T YOU DARE COME OUT!" she yelled with all she had, causing me to cringe violently.

I got up, shaking, to make my way to my bedroom. It's not like she scared me, it's not like her yelling scared me. The crazed look in her eye, the look that told me she would stop at nothing to have her way; that is what scared me.

It terrified me.

It had been days since my horrible run in with my mother. I had been trapped in this hellhole for a countless number of days. I had been receiving small portions of food, mostly consisting of a glass of water and a piece of plain bread each day. My stomach endlessly grumbled, wanting the unreachable. I sighed; reaching for the sketchpad I had busied myself. I glanced outside my window, spotting a small bird. I edged closer slowly, afraid to scare it away. I drew it carefully, sketching each detail I had been presented with: forever preserving it. I felt as if I had been wrapped into a warm embrace by my mother. My _real_ mother. Eyes widened, I grasped at the empty air around me, trying to catch and keep the moment that I remembered her. I missed her: her constant stream of smiles that lightened up the darkest days, and encouragements that told me that all was not lost. She was the think flicker of candlelight that drove me to tomorrow, that told me things wouldn't always me bad.

Once again, she faded out of my memory. And along with her memory, she took along the moments worth of emotion that I felt.

I jumped as the door was thrown open and my mother entered. "Haven't you changed into your nightgown yet?" She spat out as if revolted to be talking to me.

I got up wordlessly, carefully treading my way to my closet: trying not to make the wrong move. She caught sight of the sketch I had made and snorted. "Since when have you been able to sketch? Last I recall, you were unable to draw a straight line."

I clenched my fist, and took a deep breath. "You can actually see something other than your precious reputation and poise?" I mock gasped.

She narrowed her eyes at me, and the warning bells went off in my head. "Is that how a future heir talks to the parents that provide her with so much? Perhaps it would do you well to watch your tone."

"Perhaps! Or maybe it would do me better to show you where the hell you belong and drag you out of whatever demented fantasy you live in!" I shouted, and regretted a mere second later as she ran towards me.

The sharp sting in my cheek was felt before I could register what had happened. _She slapped me,_ I thought dumbfounded. But I had no more time to think of the intensity of her actions, as she grabbed onto my hair, pulled it and threw me onto my bed. I whimpered, trying to get up. She then kneed me painfully in the stomach and pushed me to the ground. Her steps as she left echoed in my mind minutes after she left. Then the reaction fired up.

I began to sob silently, cuddling with the cold floor that I had so harshly been thrown to.

"W-Why am I c-crying?" I asked myself "It's not l-like I care w-what she does! She's n-no one t-to me!"

Why was I scared? It was not as if I was attached to this "mother" of mine. I realized that it wasn't sadness that pushed me to cry, but fear.

I was scared. I was scared of her manipulative nature, how she managed to scare me. I stood up on my wobbly, unsteady legs, only to discover blood. I leaned against the wall for support, barely working up enough power to walk. I looked through my dressing table and found a first aid kit. I unsteadily stumbled over to the bathroom, where I bawled to myself.

Had I really expected anything to get better? People had hurt me one too many times, and I'd gotten hurt. The only one thing that I had learnt was that no matter who it was, they would always hurt you. Intentionally, or unintentionally, the scar would not fade. So there I sat, clenching my fists, hoping that tomorrow would come sooner.

Tomorrow always brought better times, right?

 **Sooo… There you have it folks! I know it's not the best (not even edited 0.0), but I really wanted to write this. Don't worry though, cuz the mood will lighten up tremendously later! This was just an opening to explain Aki's later decisions and thought process! Anyway, I hope it wasn't as bad as it looks! Please comment me feedback! (I'd also love to know what you think!)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sooooo… I'M BACK! Sorry if it took me a while to put this up, I've been sort of busy with my other book: Boundless. I was so happy with the follows and favourite I got: thank you so much!**

 **Shiranai Atsune: That's you and me both! Let's see if she can find a way to save Korosensei, I still haven't thought it out that far out! Thank you so much for the follow!**

 **I'd also like to thank Frost D. Zen for the favourite** _ **and**_ **follow! You made my day! I'd love if you comment on this chapter, your feedback would be much appreciated!**

 **Anyway, for you to be able to understand this chapter, you need to remember two facts:**

 **Kayano's real name was Akira Yukimura.**

 **Fuwa Yuzuki was the otaku girl from 3E**

 **Without further ado: here's the chapter!**

 **Enjoy!**

I hastily brushed through my tangled hair, nervously glancing toward my door. Looking toward my reflection, I sighed. There were dark circles under my pretty purple eyes, and you could tell just by glancing at me that I was a mess. Sure, two years in this life should've been enough to adapt to this lifestyle, but when are things ever what they're supposed to be? I tip toed around the room I was residing in, feeling like a stranger in my own house. But perhaps that's what I really was.

I knew that if my parents found out what I was up to I would be in a _lot_ of trouble. I was well aware that sneaking out at six in the morning was surely not the most appropriate answer, but I had been forbidden from leaving the house on my own. You would think that a twelve year old would get some respect these days. The situation with my mother had not gotten much better: she was still abusive, but I had learnt how to control myself and our horrendous run ins had ceased. I knew that I needed some sort of getaway, something that would distract me from all the shortcomings of this hell.

Just yesterday I had caught a man secretly reading hentai behind his newspaper. It was disgusting, to say the least, but who said that blessings don't come in disguises (extremely good ones at that). Now, I knew that there was manga in this strange world! I was extremely excited to get my hands on some yummy manga (ignoring the fact that that made zero sense).

It had now been two years since I watched or read Assassination Classroom, but my craze had clearly not died down. I constantly sketched out different characters from said series, each sketch made more enthusiastically than the last.

I walked over to my closet, where I dug out my sketch book and opened it, tracing Nagisa's figure dreamily. Then, I took a deep breath and made up my mind: it was now or never. So I grabbed my wallet (let's just say, having rich parents has at least _one_ up) and made my escape.

I ran as fast as my legs would allow, getting out of sight of my house. I breathed a sigh of relief. Everything would work out. I slowed my pace, carefully assessing my surroundings, making sure that I did not get lost. Paranoia had become a part of me ever since the unfortunate incident. I clenched my fists: no one was to be trusted. I was perfectly content letting myself roam free with any manga I found, but that was about all. I had not forgotten.

All my depressing thoughts lay forgotten as I sighted the very store I was looking for: the manga store. I sprinted in its direction, and from the first time since this purgatory begun: I was excited. I abruptly stopped mere steps away from the door and took a deep, calming breath. I subconsciously pulled my shirt down so as to hide any scars or marks.

I took wobbly, unsteady steps and finally opened the door. My eyes watered in happiness and I wasted not a moment more, hopping in happiness to the different aisles filled with eternal bliss. I picked out all sorts of unknown series, but skidded to a halt as I spotted one of my _old_ favourites. As in from my old life. I quickly grabbed the first volume of Hunter x Hunter, skimming through it to make sure it was the same one that I had read and loved: and it was undoubtedly so. I held it tightly to my chest, I felt as if it was the most I could preserve from before this mess. Excited beyond limits, I began to search for other series that I recognized. In the end I had quite a few manga series in my hands, such as: Hunter x Hunter, Attack on Titan, Psycho Pass, and even the infamous Tokyo Ghoul. I was overjoyed, yet I felt the presence of a troublesome feeling: uneasiness. I had not found Assassination Classroom yet. I reassured myself, deciding to ask the clerk at the counter.

I walked up to the counter mentally reassuring myself that everything was alright, but I had an uneasy feeling that it was not. I put on a sweet (and fake) smile as I presented myself in front of the clerk, awaiting his attention. As it turns out, he was a bit absorbed in whatever mysterious material he was trying to burn into his mind (and I could guess judging from the slight red tint on his cheeks) and did not take notice of me. I cleared my throat, still taking to the polite approach. Sadly, he did not seem to take a hint. Finally, as my patience ran thin I _accidently_ snatched his hentai magazine and ripped it apart.

"Oops!" I grinned, scratching the back of my neck (not)sheepishly.

He didn't take kindly to clumsy little, accident prone me. He glared down at me through the greasy lenses of his glasses, and I laughed nervously.

"I was wondering if you could help me locate a manga I cannot find" I glanced at him, uncaring for the fact that he was not feeling very helpful at the moment. "It's called Assassination Classroom!"

One look at him mourning over his torn magazine and I knew what was up. I ran up to the hentai section, ignoring the astonished stares of the old aged perverts around me and grabbed the exact same volume the man at the counter was reading. Back at the counter, I slammed it down in front of the clerk's face and pulled out the exact change.

"You can have it, mister!" I spoke cheerily, bowing down "I'm extremely sorry for what I did before, my mother forgot to feed me my pills! Please help me locate Assassination Classroom, I really, _really_ need it; otherwise I'll get beaten up by that old man!"

The now worried looking man (whether it was due to the fact that I was to be beaten _or_ was in need of pills) was prepared to help me in any way he could. So I slowly (and patiently) named the manga I was looking for and awaited his response. After a few seconds passed, I grew impatient with his blank face and muttered, (or yelled) "WELL?!"

That seemed to do the job of snapping the lost man out of his daze, and he cleared his throat. Before speaking, he gave a tolerant look in my direction "Well, honestly, I've never heard of an 'Assassination Classroom', and I doubt that any such series exists."

Alarm rang clear in my ears but I reassured myself that the man I was talking to was just bonkers. I gave him a forbearing and restrained look before speaking slowly "Could You Check Your Database?"

The man looked a strange mixture of offended and surprised that I should question his knowledge, but he complied with my command. After a minute of clicking and typing, he glared at me somewhat angry and triumphant. He straightened his horrid composure as if he had regained his might and power and looked down at me from underneath his nose (which proved somewhat hard for him due to the fact that he was not exactly what you would call a giant).

"As I _clearly_ informed you earlier, there is no such manga as Assassination Classroom." He smiled at his sheer genius.

My eyes widened as his words registered in my now slowed mind. I frowned: how could this have been? I was soon knocked out of my daze as a piercing pain made its way to my head and I noticed that I had very (dis)gracefully fallen to the ground. I looked up at the girl I had bumped into, still a bit unresponsive due to the shock I had just received.

"Are you okay? You looked like you got hurt pretty badly" the enthusiastic girl with dull brown hair and enlightened light purple eyes grinned down at me "Then again, that might or might not have been my fault!"

She assisted me up, apologizing as soon as I had gotten up. I could not put my finger on it, but she looked _extremely_ familiar. I dismissed the feeling. Giving me a vicious smirk, she patted her chest and loudly exclaimed "I'm Fuwa Yuzuki! Nice to meetcha!"

I smiled at her kindly: she seemed pretty nice. "My name is Miura Aki. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." I bowed to her.

She looked at me strangely, eyeing me with curiosity. All of a sudden, her eyes danced with amazement and her lips curled into a smile. "That was such a fancy introduction! I bet you're some fancy rich girl, huh?"

Had my introduction really been that stiff? I supposed that I may have become accustomed to that sort of thing after living with my "parents" for so long. I felt like puking, but controlled myself. I took a deep breath and finally decided what I was to do. I opened my eyes and gave Fuwa the widest grin I possibly could and winked at her. "Hmm… who knows Fuwa san?"

She laughed wholeheartedly and then tsked at me. "No need for formalities! Call me Yuzu!"

I sighed dramatically. "I suppose you can call me Aki then!"

Then we hit off as if we had known each other for years. We fan girled over many of our favourites and found ourselves laughing and talking as if we were the best of friends. After approximately ten minutes, we noticed the heated gaze of the geeky clerk from earlier. Clearly he was not very happy with us constantly chatting under his nose, so we hastily made our exit under a yummy alibi of ice cream. We skipped along happily hand in hand, fantasizing about some shoujo manga both of us had read when I brought up Assassination Classroom. Yuzu's response was more or less the same as the clerk's (minus the sneering at the end).

"I've never heard of it! Is it a detective series? I can just imagine that already: students trapped together in a class, an assassin at loose among them. All the drama, the romance- I bet there'll be some sort of love triangle!-"

I cut Yuzu off hastily before she got a bit carried away. "It's nothing of the sort! It's about an alien who threatens to destroy the earth after blowing away most of the moon! He begins teaching a class of misfits who have been given one mission: to kill him."

"Wow! That sounds amazing Aki! Too bad you couldn't find it; I would've loved to read it!"

So we walked around discussing much, looking for an ice cream stall. Before I knew it, I was laughing and joking around as I had not done for the past two years. I began to notice all the things I had never noticed before, and I finally felt like there was some place I could belong to. So as we grew closer to the ice cream shop we were heading toward, I felt an uneasy feeling erupting in my stomach. I looked around nervously, trying to pin point what exactly could be putting me on edge. That was when I saw it.

It was a streak of brown, one I should not have even remembered anything about, but it was there. _He_ was there: my _real_ father. All of a sudden I felt a huge strain on my brain as if someone was trying to tear it open, and all the memories that I had been unable to recall since that horrible day had come back to me. Was my father really there? I gave myself no time to delve on the question, breaking into a run. I had gone into my concentration mode and Yuzu's frantic cries laid in the back of my mind: forgotten. As I neared my dad, I reminisced about the days when I was with him: that day we went fishing, when we got scolded by mom for dirtying the carpet, our laughs, and our happiness. But all this was forgotten as I finally caught up to the man and saw his face. Disappointment clouded my features as I stumbled onto a nearby bench and burst into tears. The memories were flowing out of my mind and no matter how hard I tried; I could not force them to stay.

Before I even had time to process the crazy looking Yuzu running towards me wildly I felt a huge weight on me: this weight being Yuzu, who had knocked over the bench I was sitting on along with the two of us.

"Ouch!" I yelled, instinctively reaching out to touch my forehead where a comically large bump had formed. I mock glared at Yuzu, half afraid of her angry expression.

"That usually works out a tad bit better in animes" her anger vanished, replaced by a sheepish smile. She nervously scratched the back of her neck, looking over at me curiously. After taking note that I was alright, she put her hands on her hips and pointed an accusing finger at me.

"WHY THE HELL DID YOU RUN OFF YOU IDIOT?" she yelled, causing me to go deaf for a second. Now it was my turn to give the sheepish smile.

"I thought I saw someone I recognized. Hehe…" I smiled awkwardly "Sorry… I guess." I gave her my cutest puppy dog face and she finally gave in.

"Well, I guess I'll forgive you, but only as long as next time the _both_ of us can stalk a random stranger!" she winked at me, making me blush. Oh well, what was done was done. All of a sudden, Yuzu looked at me all seriously, surrounded by sparkles. My eyes widened: what was this, TWILIGHT? The whole atmosphere changed and I felt as if some extremely important moment was about to occur: was she going to _confess_ to me?! I backed up a step or two and sized up Yuzu. Finally, I cleared my throat.

"I'm really sorry Yuzu, but I don't roll that way." I became startled by the alarmed and surprised look on Yuzu's face; poor girl. "What I mean to say is: it's not you. It's me."

Realization dawned on her face and she burst into laughter, falling to the ground. I stared at her, questioning whether I should make my dramatic exit then or after I had helped stable her mental condition. I suppose love does that to you: it drives you insane. I patted her on the back.

"It's okay, you'll find someone better!" I tried my hand at cheering her up. Her laughter died down, and she looked at me as if I had grown a second head.

"Aki… did you actually think that I was confessing to you? I mean, you're nice and all but…" I deadpanned most likely blushing beet red. Have you ever had those moments where you wished that the earth would swallow you whole? Multiply the shame and awkwardness by a million, and you just might be able to comprehend what I felt at that moment. Yuzu began laughing once again upon seeing my reaction and got me in a headlock, causing both of us to fall to the ground in laughter.

"I was wondering whether you would want to be my friend." Yuzu stated, then smiled. I glanced at her, marveling at that twelve year olds innocence (before realizing my own age). Then, I gave her my own contagious grin.

"Of course!" And so, to celebrate this innocent friendship (no yuri involved, whatsoever) we decided to go to the cinema, and on the way there, discussed the philosophy of cinema's like a pair of bosses.

"What are these… settings? Unusual as they may be they blend within our cold hearted society" I stroked my imaginary beard, dressed in Sherlock Holmes attire that appeared out of nowhere.

"Shut up, you baka! You're supposed to help me choose a movie to watch instead of talking to a pair of slippers made in a movie poster!"

Okay, so maybe I might have exaggerated the situation a bit.

I pointed at a nearby poster with supposed high school students on it (they were obviously actually adults dressed in school uniforms) and yelled: "This one, Yuzu!"

She scrunched her nose. "No! How does this mystery-thriller sound to you?"

Both of us glared at each other.

"Young love!" I yelled, waving around a suddenly existing flag with a heart on it.

"Lunatic Murderers!" Yuzu shouted back doing a weird wrestler dance.

As both of us were clearly unrelenting, we decided to settle it the old fashion way: rock, paper, scissors! Our epic battle ended with a triumphant Aki and a sobbing Yuzu (as well as an injured, unconscious toddler on the pavement). So, in result, we found ourselves stuffing ourselves with cinema snacks and getting lost in the world of a typical high school rom-com. Although I enjoyed myself to no ends, I felt an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach: I had a nagging feeling that I recognized the main character's younger sister. And so, as I clapped along heartily with the rest of the audience when the movie ended, I hung off the edge of my seat in contemplation of what the credits would behold.

Akira Yukimura: that was her name, and yet it rang no bell. Forcing myself to get over it, I walked back home with Yuzu by my side, a comfortable silence hanging by us. But even as I waved to Yuzu as we parted ways, the nagging feeling that I was missing something, and the familiar yet unrecognizable face of "Akira Yukimura" stayed with. All this was pushed aside, however, after I had sneaked back in and now faced the main door. I was a bit frightened: I was sure that my parents would not take too kindly to the way I had sneaked out, _or_ how I was dressed. Gulping, I pushed open the door and quietly made my way to the dining room where my mother and father were currently eating a lavish lunch.

I slipped into my seat and patiently waited through the silence before the storm. I cautiously hid the shopping bag with all my manga behind my back, and awaited my sentence. My mother looked up at me sharply, sizing up my appearance and then, finally, spotting the plastic bag that I had apparently not hidden so well after all. _Shit._

She raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow at me. "What's in the bag, Aki?"

"Umm… it's just… some s-school supplies! That's right! They're a couple of books for revision in preparation for the upcoming exams!" I squeaked out nervously, cursing myself mere seconds afterwards. She would probably be checking what I had gotten! Surprisingly, she remained seated and glared at me. She then proceeded to speak in a somewhat distracted manner:

"Have you decided which middle school to study in?"

…

"Well, not really. I think I'll apply to the most prestigious one I can find."

"Well, I have one in mind that you should apply for. I know the chairman there very well."

"Okay… I guess I'll apply there if you want me to" I spoke carefully, still unable to comprehend where all this sudden concern about my future came from.

"The chairman has a son. You should become acquaintances with him."

"…"

"Anything more than friends will also be acceptable." She said slowly, innocently munching on her fancy meal.

All I could do next was nodding my head vigorously and maintaining a poker face throughout the rest of the meal. I hastily excused myself from the table and ran up to my room, forcibly bottling all my emotions inside myself. Then, as I locked the door of my bedroom behind myself, I fell to the ground in loud, maniacal laughter. Was my mother really trying to set me up with some rich dude? As I calmed down, I buried myself in a nearby pillow and bellowed as loud as I could manage.

"THERE'S NO WAY I'M EVER GETTING INTO A RELATIONSHIP WITH ANYONE BUT NAGISAAAAAAAAAAA!"

I suppose I should have just been thankful that my shouts were being muffled by the poor pillow that I was crushing. I grabbed my sacred sketchbook once more and began passionately painting a picture of 3E, all of them together, with Koro Sensei standing in the center.

Hours went by, but it seemed as if all time had come to a standstill as I became absorbed by the painting. Wiping away a bead of sweat, I neatly wrote the date and my name in one corner of the painting as I always did when I finished a piece. As I finished admiring my masterpiece, I hugged it tightly, only to gasp in distress at the discovery that I had gotten paint all over my clothes. After reassuring my restless mind that the painting was still untainted in every way, I skipped over to the bathroom to change into my night suit.

Then, as I finally lay in bed after safely tucking away my sketchbook, I looked over at my closed balcony. I sighed: I was not sleepy in the least. So, after a brief, habitual look around to make sure that no one was watching, I sprinted to the transparent sliding door that led me a step closer to freedom.

Taking a soothing breath, I stepped outside and froze like a deer caught in headlights. The shining balls of gas in the sky captured me. I stared at the stars in wonderment.

"The stars are wise for staying so far away, no one can hurt them that way" I whispered to myself, eyes twinkling in awe of their shine.

I had always been told that a wish made on a star would always come true, so my childish urge pushed way to words and I found myself intently holding onto hope.

"I want every day to be an adventure, a quest and a challenge, I want to meet people I love and care about! Please, please, make my wish come true" I pleaded, hands put together and eyes shut tightly.

However hopeful and happy I felt in that very moment, I refused to acknowledge something that I would not realize until years later: that was the wrong wish to make.

 **Another chapter down! Better prepare yourself, folks, the next chapter is going to be** _ **pretty**_ **intense! Please review and give me your feedback: I really appreciate it! Until next time!**

 **-Deceiving_Aura**


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay,** _ **Okay!**_ **It's been a long time, and I apologize for that heartily! I've had a lot of tests and projects, so it was sort of hard to write this! That and practically half of my friends had their birthday this month so that was pretty hectic. To say the least, I'm pretty much sick of birthdays at the moment. I wonder if anyone reading this has their birthday in October as well. Let me know if you do! Anyway, this is an extra-long chapter (and a pretty dramatic one at that), so I hope that that sort of makes up for the late release of this chapter! Also, (not so) fun fact: I re wrote many parts of this chapter just because I was not pleased with how they had turned out.**

 **Now, time for the reviews!**

 **Frost D. Zen: Lol, the chapters will continue to come, but let's see how fast! ;) I'm glad that you liked it!**

 **xenocanaan: You're totally right! There really aren't enough Nagisa x OC stories out there! Let's see about that whole Aki x Nagisa thing though! ;) I hope you like this chapter too!**

 **TotallyEcho: X,D Yeah, maybe she really should have! Although stars seem far more… romantic (?), don't they? I'm so happy that you're liking it so far, and above all, that you actually found it funny! I was really wondering whether anyone would find any of those lame jokes funny, so I'm really glad that you did. Sorry to disappoint though, this chapter won't really be that funny! (I think)**

 **Thank you very much for the follows: Conan in love, AryaZEvans, xenocanaan, mangagirl-adb and VariegatedMosaic! Your follows really made my day(s)!**

 **Also, loads of hugs to TotallyEcho, mangagirl-adb, tuniejr and xenocanaan for the favourites!**

 **I can't believe that so many people even liked this! Thank you** _ **so**_ **much for all of your support, and sorry for the not-so-perfect quality of this chapter! I literally just read over it a couple of times!**

 **On to the chapter then!**

Chapter 3:

"You may now begin your examinations," instructed the middle aged examiner.

I sighed, bored by the serious and suffocating atmosphere of the classroom. Each student had concentrated all their attention on the exam, and the silence that followed was one so thick with tension that I felt that I could cut through it with a knife. _And to think that we're only in junior high!_ Picking up my pencil, I flipped over the exam with my spare hand and began one of the most boring, and easy exams in my life. In all honesty, I really did not even now about the standards of education these days. Shaking my head like an old geezer recalling the good old days, I tried to just get it over with.

As my eyes followed the neatly printed words, my mind assessed them and so my fingers shaped out the result of the actions of both. Using my usual messy handwriting, I scrawled down each answer one by one, taking small breaks in between to determine what to write next. Before I knew it, I had completed all ten pages, and, glancing at the clock carefully placed above the desk where the examiner slept, it had only taken me fifteen minutes.

 _Tch! Last time it took me only ten minutes!_

After carefully contemplating whether I should take a quick nap before the next exam, I walked up to the examiner and handed in my papers (but only after waking up a startled and slightly annoyed middle aged man). And so, I made my exit, ignoring the awe stricken faces of my classmates. The school hallway was quiet, a humongous change from the usual; where chattering students would fill the whole school with noise.

 _Well, at least there's one use for these boring exams!_

Ever since the incident, I had grown a liking to isolation. I just didn't like being around too many people; people that would betray me at any given oppurtunity. They didn't want to help me. They will _never_ help me. Painful memories flashed before my eyes, and the lip that I bit to avoid the oncoming tears bled.

 _Stop thinking about it!_ I began to hum some random anime opening, ignoring the aching of my heart. Soon, I successfully distracted myself, or perhaps that was what I told myself. I shook my head, imagining that by doing so I left behind all my troubles. Then, I proceeded.

I skipped over to the rooftop; the one place where I could be closest to the past. As I opened the door I noticed, to my utmost annoyance, that two peers of mine lingered around the corner, waving to me happily. I reluctantly returned to favour, only to then ignore them by heading off in the opposite direction.

After finding a place where I would be out of the sight of the irritatingly friendly classmates, I laid myself down on the cold, tiled floor, shivering slightly upon contact. I stared up into the blank sky, losing myself in my thoughts.

I wondered if the sky that looked down at me was the same one that I looked up at in my previous life. Everything seemed the same from the exterior, but in all truthfulness, the base of _my_ reality had been shaken, leaving me in a mess of rumble. How could it be that the earth continued to revolve, the seasons continued to change, people continued to live all while I was left behind, confused.

One thing intrigued me, however.

Everything had changed for me, and yet the stars in the sky continued to glow and light up the lives of many during the time of darkness: the night. During the day, however, they seemingly disappeared, but I knew that they were still there, awaiting the opportunity to light up the time without light once more.

 _I guess light always is there, we just can't see it. I wonder if the light in my life will ever be fully rekindled._

I raised my hand slightly, grasping the air, but had it slip through my fingertips at each attempt. Four years had now passed, and I was in the second year of middle school. I no longer tried to pass this off as a horrible dream; even nightmares could not frighten me to such an extent. For now, all I had was Yuzu.

Even as my heart felt contentment and love for her, my mind warned me. There was something that I was missing about Fuwa Yuzuki. I thought about it for what felt like stretched out years, and wanted to delve on it more. The answer felt so close, as if it were right in my grasp.

All of a sudden, as if its existence had been created out of plain nothingness, a sudden need struck me like thunder. I needed my sketchbook, now. Although I was unable to understand why, for the reason that I only ever sketched anything and everything from Assassination Classroom, I knew deep down that this was the answer. I scrambled for my bag, searching for it frantically.

Interrupting my voyage of discovery was, at that moment, the monotonous ringing of the bell that notified me, along with the two insignificant classmates of the beginning of the next lesson; namely, the next exam. For a moment, an inner conflict arose in me: education versus moment of discovery, but it held no heed. An unknown teacher had entered my domain and was currently ordering each of us to make it down for the examinations.

Internally sighing at my misfortune, I made my way to the room where I was to give my paper. Just as I was about to seat myself in said room, the far stricter examiner (in comparison to the previous one) tapped on my shoulder, annoyed.

"Miss Miura! I would like to remind you that school bags are not tolerated in the exam room!" I found the bag being forcefully snatched from my hands. "Come to me afterwards to collect it."

Then she marched off to the desk, leaving me to curse her like my life depended on it. I slumped in my seat and simply glared at the back of the person ahead of me to pass the time. As the accursed exam was finally distributed, I picked up my pencil and began.

As usual, I completed it without so much as breaking a sweat. It was a shame, really. For some strange reason, ever since being reborn I craved a challenge, but received none. Studies were easy, and although I was a dunce at sports, I had no interest in physical education, whatsoever.

I handed in my exam to a sceptical examiner when it had only been ten minutes in, and made my way out. Before I could resume the chaos that my thoughts had ensued earlier, the pop song that Yuzu had coerced me into setting as her ringtone began to blare loudly. I picked up the call, only to regret it a mere second afterwards.

"MIURA AKI! YOU BETTER NOT HAVE FORGOTTEN ABOUT OUR PLANS FOR TODAY!" my ear drums suffered the price for my foolishness of not lowering the volume beforehand.

My eyes began to twitch, and I could only just stop myself from teleporting myself to strangle Yuzu. "Yuzu, may I remind you that there is still an _hour_ left?" I spoke in a playful, sickly sweet sing-song voice.

"Hehe… so I guess it would be the wrong thing to tell you that I'm at your school?" her tone was hopeful.

"…" My face went blank and I refused to resist the strong urge to face palm with all I had.

"WHOOP, WHAT DO YOU KNOW? I'M TOTALLY _NOT_ AT YOUR SCHOOL! BYE!"

My eyes swiftly began to scan the premises, and could only just stop themselves from rolling when they spotted an extremely out of place bush next to the lockers, which was suspiciously beginning to move toward the exit, only to bump into the wall. If the mumbles of "That ungrateful Aki… came all the way here for her" weren't enough, the terribly camouflaged sneeze that followed certainly was. I marched over to the _completely_ normal bush that just happen to be randomly placed inside one of the most prestigious junior high schools (note the sarcasm), and whipped it off the floor, only to discover a startled Yuzu.

I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow, obviously requesting an explanation. Yuzu, in response, giggled nervously, and then sighed, as if what she was about to reveal had been burdening her for a long time. The atmosphere had changed, and I could feel a chill in the air.

"Aki, at first, it seemed as if you wore your heart on your sleeve, but it turns out, there's a lot that you haven't told me" her eyes began to tear, and she stood up, heading toward the exit with me following closely behind. Suddenly, the comforting silence of the hallway had transformed into a chilling one that screamed for my overdue destruction. Anxiously, I tugged at my sleeves, as if covering over my secrets.

"Sometimes you have bruises on your skin, all supposedly because of small, insignificant accidents. You despise public, crowded areas and occasionally, I find you wincing in the presence of a large crowd. Miura Aki, you shudder at the site of alleyways and are seemingly allergic to red roses. I have never, even once in these two years met your parents and you refuse to let me in if they are present."

We were now outside the school, the harsh wind blowing at us relentlessly. Yuzu was unable to hold back her sadness, and a small tear rolled down her suddenly pale skin.

"Even though you try to hide it from me, you always act like you need to stay back for something and then ask every single clerk at every single manga store for a series named 'Assassination Classroom'; the one that you have been looking for like crazy since the day we met, but are _still_ unable to find. I have heard of the characters from it on rare occasions, and sometimes, when you think that no one is listening I hear you talk about it. You sketch and paint in that sketchbook of yours, yet always change the subject when I request to see what's in there, or what you're drawing."

At this, she turned to me, finally making eye contact. The desperation in her eyes made me speechless. The guilt that welled up in me was overwhelming.

"Aki, you know you can trust me, right?"

That question itself forced me to think. Why hadn't I told her? I had no answer, but I knew that I simply couldn't. She couldn't find out, _ever._ So, as usual, I lied. And I knew that all those lies would one day surround me, and kill me. Only a long time after would I actually realize the weight of the seemingly light lies that I so easily burdened myself with.

"Yuzu, the truth is that nothing is alright." I started off with a sprinkle of the truth. "My parents are, for lack of a better vocabulary, abusive and manipulative. They don't deserve to be called parents. I'm sorry that I worried you with something like that."

I felt myself being thrown back as Yuzu jumped onto me, embracing me with all her might. Her whispered endearments came naturally, the warmth in them surrounding me. Then, as we exchanged awkward smiles of relief, we headed off toward my house. Yuzu remained determined that today it was going to be the best day of my life.

"Also, Aki?" she mumbled, still grinning. "Is that really all?"

I turned toward her, pushing my guilt down so that no one but me could be hurt by it. "Of course, you're my best friend! I would never hide anything from you!"

We headed to my house, and not another word broke the peaceful silence that told us that everything was going to be alright after all.

(Afterwards, when the destruction began :)

Both of us, dressed up and ready had finally begun Yuzu's master plan of: "making-this-the-best-day-of-your-life-whether-you-like-it-or-not!"

Thankfully, there wasn't much of a rush at our favourite manga store. We entered, greeting the clerk that was cursing his luck that we had to come during his shift, and proceeded to purchase some of our favourites. For today, I had decided that I was to buy some cheesy shoujo to cheer myself up, and so that is exactly what I did. I picked up any that I recognized from _before,_ such as: 'Hirunaka no Ryuusei', 'Hibi ChouChou' and even the classic 'Ouran High School Host Club'.

When I became satisfied with the huge pile in my hands, I headed back to the counter to buy it. As the cashier began to scan them, I asked the usual question.

"Sorry to bother you, cashier san, but has-"

"For the last time, _miss_ , there is no such manga as Assassination Classroom." He interrupted me in the same monotonous tone he always spoke in. I glared at him, huffing.

Bored by the direction of the conversation that I had unluckily initiated, I looked around, trying to avoid any further addition to it. I grinned as I sighted the hentai section, with a prominent "18 PLUS" sign above it. At such a time of the day, there was still a significant crowd gathered there, mostly consistent of high school boys. What caught my observant eye was the one boy at the back of the crowd, giggling to himself. His head had been shaved clean, like a Buddhist monks should have been; that only made him look even _more_ out of place. Shamelessly, I stared at him, a small fragrant of a memory knocking at my insides.

It was Okajima: Okajima Taiga.

I felt my internal organs churn in anxiety; it failed to register in my confused mess of a mind that it was him. Yet it was as clear as calm, sea water. My feet began to move unconsciously and I apologetically smiled at Yuzu as she called for me. Then, I ran. I was afraid that just like with my previous existence he too would slip away from my very fingertips. Slowly, my stern smile melted into an excited one as I thought about if it was actually him. As soon as the smile had appeared on my features, it disappeared. I had been held back my shaking arms and I turned to who so ever had put a halt to my happiness. I digressed, turning to the furious old lady who was currently shaking her head in disappointment. She lectured me on the "vulgar new generation", and briefly (or, for about ten minutes straight) mentioned that she "had never before seen a little girl so eager to view such inappropriate material". I ignored her rants, my eyes scanning the area once more only to find that Okajima was not even there; as if he had never even existed.

Dazed, I went back to the cashier and finally purchased the manga that I had momentarily abandoned. Yuzu remained quiet, but only until we had exited the shop. Then, she dragged me to a vacant park that lay across the street. Crossing her arms, she scowled.

"What in the world was that about, Miura Aki?!" Yuzu glared at me.

I stared at her straight in the face, but all she could see where mine was supposed to be was a deceptive and cold mask. "I thought I saw someone I knew. It's no big deal."

Her expression softened slightly. "Aki, are you sure that you don't want to share anything?"

My smile looked bright as day but dripped with deadly poison. "I'm sure! What are you, my mom? Let's go and have some fun!"

Together, we hailed a taxi and decided to visit the local swimming pool; at this time of the day, there was usually barely anyone there.

Although in body I remained in the taxi, my mind roamed, finally addressing the issue that it had refused to acknowledge only seconds before. Could Okajima really have been there? The fact was that even throughout the last couple of years I had remained obsessed with Assassination Classroom, yet, why had the characters only just begun appearing? I pressed myself harshly against the hard glass of the window, as if hoping that such an amount of force would dispel all of the ridiculous ideas from my mind, but failed miserably. My lips pursed into a thin line as the thoughts became exceedingly worse.

 _Sure, even I get that my adoration of Assassination Classroom has progressively become more, but that's only because that's all that I have left from my old life! There's nothing wrong with that. It's not as if I really want to go back to that time, I never would be able to; I just wish to hold that light once more, the light that I lost._

 _I want back the happiness and joy that I once had!_

I had begun to rap my knuckles anxiously against the itchy, irritable material of the seat covers. My actions made no sound, but my silence spoke volumes. The mere thought of my madness sent shivers down my spine. As tears pricked at the edges of my eyes, I felt my hand being gripped tightly. Jumping slightly, I went stiff for a while. No one had done such a thing to me for years: this simple squeeze of reassurance. Slowly, I relaxed under the warmth of Yuzu's hand and turned to her. I smiled slightly as she conspicuously avoided my gaze.

I had had enough; there was to be no more fruitless worrying. I let my mind drift and returned to the pretence of happiness that I had been in previously.

"Yuzu, there's a problem," I stated all of a sudden.

"What is it?" she turned to me, worried.

"What about our swimsuits?"

She smirked, whipping out two pairs of swimsuits, and I flinched at the horribly bright colours that the matched pair had: yellow and orange. "Do not doubt me. You too will be able to be like me one day, grasshopper. All in due time," she thought for a second. " _Okay,_ so maybe not quite as amazing and spectacular as me, but you can maybe try out to be my sidekick."

Large red irritation marks formed on my head and I punched her shoulder. As she readied herself to strike back, we heard an obnoxiously loud voice clear its throat. We froze, our eyes widening; we were still in the taxi. Not only that, but we had also managed to reach our destination. I hastened to pull out the amount of yen needed and pushed Yuzu out of the car. I muttered a small "thank you" for the driver and made my way inside. Once more, my imagination took over and I subconsciously made my way to the changing rooms. Soon, however, I felt Yuzu tugging on my arm, trying to keep me from entering them.

I looked over at her, annoyed, and tried to yank my arm out of her grasp. She sighed, seeing that I was unrelenting, and suddenly, a mischievous smile took over her features. Before I could register just the amount of danger I was in, Yuzu let me go and the force that previously served to allow me to one-up her now caused me to go crashing into the door of the changing room and fall painfully onto the floor. Just as my hand had reached up to cradle my head and assess the amount of brain cells I had lost, I noticed that something was off; there was suddenly complete silence in the large room I was now in. I soon regretted my entire life as I raised my head out of curiosity. In the room were more than a dozen naked men, getting dressed either into, or out of their swimsuits.

"I'M EXTREMELY SORRY!" I yelled and scrambled disgracefully for the exit. I grabbed a hysterical Yuzu and ran for the women's changing rooms.

The blush did not disappear from my cheeks even as I dressed, chased after Yuzu and headed toward the pool.

"Why didn't you stop me?!" was my main concern as we walked at a sluggish pace to our destination.

She snorted. "Who are you kidding, Aki? I _did_ stop you! But when you were so adamant that you just _needed_ to get a peek at all those naked bodies, I just… helped!"

"Y-YOU IDIOT!" was my lamely put together response.

We had reached the pool now, and it was as we had predicted: almost empty save for a few. Leaving behind Yuzu, I dived into the cold, enveloping water and began to swim. It was strange; before, I hated even the idea of swimming, but now, it felt like an escape.

Who could possibly get me here?

Oblivious, I swam straight into the tiled side of the pool, gasping. I had only just begun to ponder the amount of brain cells I had lost that very day when I felt shaking hands drag me to the surface.

"Yuzu, I was really just fine, you didn't have to-"

It was not Yuzu, to say the least.

This girl's straight grey hair had been pulled into a neat pony tail and her golden eyes shone brightly under the water.

" _If we're in the water, this just might be my turn to shine."_

Shine indeed, Kataoka Megu.

I shouted an incoherent string of words, with no idea as to what I was saying. I climbed out of the pool, scraping my knees in the process. My hasty actions drew blood, but I did not care. I looked around hysterically, as if looking for some sort of help. Soon, I heard Yuzu yelling at me, but did not care. I rushed into the hallway once more and hastened to dress myself up. It was true. I really was crazy; I was seeing anime characters in _real_ life.

 _That was just a hallucination! None of them actually exist; I'm just imagining them._

I ran, I ran, and I ran. My feet took me where I knew I could never have taken myself in such a dire state of mind. I got out onto the streets and ignored the dozens of insignificant people that ventured there. For all I knew, I was imagining them as well as every single other thing.

What was real?

That was the one question that haunted me endlessly. I needed to know at that very moment, I needed to just tell myself that I was mad and that that was the absolute end to it. There was no way that anything else was even remotely possible. I refused to believe it because it would mean that my "reality" was one that did not even exist.

My feet ached, and yet continued to move. Pushing past multiple people, ignoring their complaints, I just headed to where I knew I could get an answer. That is how I ended up standing in front of the house I thought I would never come to had there been a choice: my "home".

It had become late in the day and the moon scrutinized every being under its watch. The stars, they continued to shine as I ignored the yelling servants that pursued me. I just headed up to the safe sanctuary that I had run to multiple times before: trying to hide. The only difference was that this time, there was no more hiding to be done. This time, I was the one seeking.

I locked to door behind myself and plopped myself into the seat in front of where I had seated my glorious laptop. With my hands shaking, I typed the four simple words that would seal my doom. I clicked the search button, conflicted hopes in me rising.

The whole page filled up with never ending results, and I staggered backwards, gazing at the screen in horror. It couldn't be!

" _Kunugigaoka_ Junior _High School_ , founded by Gakuho Asano"

But this discovery clearly faded into the background as the shouts of many were heard from outside. People were screaming, but all those sounds had been easily covered up by the huge bang that echoed throughout the earth. It felt as if the world shook under the weight of all this confusion; it was doomsday.

The moon had exploded.

….

….

 **So… How was that for dramatic? Finally, Aki has figured something out! Also, warning: I have my exams coming up so I'm extremely sorry, but… I might not be able to update for quite a while! I'm sorry! Just bear with me, please! Favourite, follow and review! Your feedback really motivates, and helps me!**

 **Until next time!**

 **-DeceivingAura**


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